9/29/13: 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY/DR. STRANGLOVE REVIEW

So I just got both these movies for DVD, and if you want to learn more about the director behind these two masterpieces, Stanley Kubrick, click HERE.

So I will be giving my review on both these movies. Enjoy!

2001: A Space Odyssey Review                                                                                   by J Berlin
Director: Stanley Kubrick                                       Genre: Sci-Fi/Adventure
Starring: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood                    Rating: G
Released: 1968                                                      Running Time: 2 hr 40 min

2001: A Space Odyssey is a classic masterpiece and one of Stanley Kubrick's best films, as well as one of the best films of all time.
         The story follows periods of time in the history of man. You first start out when man is first created from apes and how they discover tools, then you go to when man has reached the Moon, they you go to man reached Jupiter then beyond. Unknown intelligent beings are watching man's leaps of greatness in a beacon that looks like a Giant Chocolate Bar. The beings say if humans reach anything past Jupiter, then they get to rise as new beings, a new form of life. I have to say, the story was very confusing at first, as you jump around to different time periods, and the end [NO SPOILERS!] is probably the most confusing part.
          Besides the complicated story, let's go now to my opinions. I thought the film was great, the photography was beautiful and the effects are revolutionary at that time, and I would say most of the effects are better than the Computer Graphics we use today. The soundtrack is incredible in this film, such as the famous theme song, or the classical music playing in almost every scene where there isn't dialogue.
          Speaking of dialogue, the film doesn't have that much. When you see the film, you may just be watching tons and tons of scenes that are without dialogue and drag on a lot, like in some scenes where they show spaceships flying around and landing or boarding each other for 15 minutes. You may find that boring and pointless, but I think the main goal of the film is be awed by the astonishing photography and the musical score.

           Okay, here's some dislikes about the film. Some scenes dragged on so much, it wasn't even fun anymore, especially near the end. I could see where Stanley Kubrick wanted you to be awed by the cool effects and designs but it didn't really feel I was watching a movie anymore, I was just watching a slideshow on my desktop. The acting wasn't terrible, but it wasn't the best. The writing really formed most of the acting, and I think the actors and actresses got to hooked up memorizing the lines than really delivering them really, really well, which is what this film needed, because some parts of this movie you feel as if you want to fall asleep. The character development wasn't that good either, but I could understand

in a film like this, you don't get to feel and know every character that well. And finally, the photography. Some scenes show the same photography for a really long time, and without music or dialogue, it gets honestly, kind of boring. Like I said, you could sleep through some of these scenes. I could understand how the effects were revolutionary in that time, but, Stanley Kubrick held it on too long and too simple for you to really take it in and appreciate it.
         Overall, 2001: A Space Odyssey is not the film you want to see if you're looking for superb, spot-on acting, action, and a thrilling adventure. If you don't like to think about a movie, then don't watch this, because it may be too confusing and weird at first, although you could just sit back, relax, and enjoy the beautiful photography, effects, designs, and other incredible things this movie has to offer.
         I'd give 2001: A Space Odyssey...........

  9 out of 10

Dr. Stranglove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb Review      by J Berlin

Director: Stanley Kubrick                                       Genre: Comedy/War
Starring: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott                  Rating: PG
Released: 1964                                                      Running Time: 1 hr 35 min

Dr. Stranglove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, or simply just Dr. Stranglove is considered a classic film and a creation as it was being made. It was meant to be a drama, but ended up as a comedy, Peter Sellers plays multiple characters and improvises a few scenes, and George C. Scott was tricked by Kubrick to play an even more comical character.

Dr. Stranglove himself

           Anyways, the story follows an insane war general that sends some B-52 bombers to drop nuclear bombs on the Soviet Union. In the meantime, a war room of politicians and generals try to stop the outbreak of nuclear war and nuclear holocaust on the world. Some of the politicians include a military officer, Group Captain Lionel Mandrake [Peter Sellers], the American President and Commander-in-Chief [also Peter Sellers], General Buck Turgidson [George C. Scott], Alexei de Sadeski, the Soviet ambassador [Peter Bull], and last but not least, Dr. Stranglove [Peter Sellers], a nuclear expert with a weird personality and an erratic case of Parkinson's.
            The story was fairly simple, and the movie basically consisted of three parts, inside the B-52 bomber plane, the war room, and a war-town city. The movie seemed rushed, but had some good acting, good writing, and really developed a good story. The plot was not confusing at all like 2001: A Space Odyssey, but some scenes seemed
unnecessary and not good to keep the story going, like some of the war scenes.

             Also, I never saw much of Dr. Stranglove himself, and most movies that are named after someone are named after the protagonist or an important character, not a minor character shown in only two scenes. I don't know why Stanley Kubrick named it after this.
             Although, this was a comedy, but not in the way they tell jokes in the story. It's sort a satire on nuclear holocaust and nuclear war, and kind of makes people feel awkward for really worrying about the Soviets attacking, which is why it was a big risk for Kubrick to take, but he made it anyway.
             The film itself kept my interest, but it was hard to understand dialogue at some points, because they either talked too fast or recited too many words to really feel a legit conversation. It didn't seem to have the best of writing, but the actors and one actress recited them very well, which made the writing seem a lot more alive and fresh.
             I liked the black-and-white setting of the film, although I didn't see how it worked with the war scenes. Some of
the scenes seemed way too dark to see bullets or guns firing or explosions. I just heard the audio. Also, Kubrick used a green table for the war room, even though we couldn't see it was green, so that was a weird move.
             All and all, the film is very good, has good acting, has a good story, and the whole film is a comedy, making fun of nuclear war and nuclear holocaust. Although, some of the lines were hard to here and the black-and-white format didn't always work for some scenes.
             I'd give Dr. Stranglove......

8.5 out of 10